(Nakajima) C6N Saiun (Myrt) @·AIRCRAFTUBE

  • Nakajima C6N Saiun Nakajima C6N Saiun
    Nakajima C6N Saiun
  • One of the C6N1 prototypes (1943) One of the C6N1 prototypes (1943)
    One of the C6N1 prototypes (1943)
  • C6N1 "762-13" of the 762nd Kokutai (January 1945) C6N1 "762-13" of the 762nd Kokutai (January 1945)
    C6N1 "762-13" of the 762nd Kokutai (January 1945)
  • The C6N1-S night fighter "ヨD-295" with its oblique 30 mm cannon, 302nd Kokutai (Atsugi, 1945) The C6N1-S night fighter "ヨD-295" with its oblique 30 mm cannon, 302nd Kokutai (Atsugi, 1945)
    The C6N1-S night fighter "ヨD-295" with its oblique 30 mm cannon, 302nd Kokutai (Atsugi, 1945)
  • C6N1-S "ヨD-295" at Atsugi (June 1945) C6N1-S "ヨD-295" at Atsugi (June 1945)
    C6N1-S "ヨD-295" at Atsugi (June 1945)
  • C6N1 "21-103" of the 121st Kokutai, captured on Tinian (1944) C6N1 "21-103" of the 121st Kokutai, captured on Tinian (1944)
    C6N1 "21-103" of the 121st Kokutai, captured on Tinian (1944)
  • C6N1 "T2-4804" evaluated in the United States after the war C6N1 "T2-4804" evaluated in the United States after the war
    C6N1 "T2-4804" evaluated in the United States after the war
  • The Chuuk C6N1 under restoration at Kawaguchiko, at the foot of Mount Fuji The Chuuk C6N1 under restoration at Kawaguchiko, at the foot of Mount Fuji
    The Chuuk C6N1 under restoration at Kawaguchiko, at the foot of Mount Fuji
  • Fuselage and Homare engine of the C6N1 at the Kawaguchiko Fuji Air Museum Fuselage and Homare engine of the C6N1 at the Kawaguchiko Fuji Air Museum
    Fuselage and Homare engine of the C6N1 at the Kawaguchiko Fuji Air Museum

Nakajima C6N Saiun ("Myrt")

The Nakajima C6N Saiun ("Iridescent Cloud") is a carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced by the Japanese manufacturer Nakajima Aircraft Company and flown by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service during the Second World War. Its Allied reporting name was "Myrt". A remarkably advanced design for its time, it was the fastest carrier-based aircraft put into service by Japan during the conflict, and one of the very few aircraft of the war designed from the outset solely for shipborne reconnaissance.

Design and development

Early in the Pacific War, the Imperial Japanese Navy recognised that using torpedo bombers such as the Nakajima B5N for reconnaissance was far from satisfactory. In the spring of 1942, Nakajima received the 17-Shi specification for a purpose-built, three-seat carrier reconnaissance aircraft. It was very demanding: a maximum speed of 350 knots (650 km/h) at 6,000 m, a range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,960 km), a landing speed not exceeding 70 knots and a climb to 6,000 m in less than eight minutes.

The design team, led by engineers Yasuo Fukuda and Yoshizo Yamamoto, quickly understood that only a very low-drag airframe could meet these figures. Their initial proposal, the N-50, used two 1,000 hp engines buried in tandem in the fuselage, driving two propellers mounted on the wing leading edges through extension shafts. When the compact 18-cylinder Nakajima Homare, rated at nearly 2,000 hp, became available, this complex arrangement was abandoned in favour of a conventional single-engine layout, which was also expected to be easier to maintain.

The resulting aircraft was built around a long, extremely narrow cylindrical fuselage, barely larger in diameter than the engine itself; to keep the cross-section to a minimum, the oil cooler was mounted externally under the cowling. The three crew members (pilot, observer and radio operator/gunner) sat in tandem under a single long glazed canopy, and the observer had windows and camera ports in the bottom and sides of the fuselage. As on the Nakajima B6N Tenzan, the fin was raked forward so that the aircraft would fit on the deck elevators of Japanese carriers. The compact, low-mounted laminar-flow wing was fitted with Fowler and split flaps and leading-edge slats to meet the low landing speed requirement, and housed six integral fuel tanks totalling 1,360 litres, four of them protected. A 730-litre ventral drop tank could be added, extending the range to more than 4,800 km. Defensive armament was limited to a single flexibly mounted rear-firing 7.92 mm Type 1 machine gun operated by the radio operator.

The first prototype, powered by a 1,820 hp Homare 11 driving a four-bladed propeller, was completed in March 1943, one month behind schedule, and made its maiden flight on 15 May 1943. Handling proved pleasant, but the Homare delivered noticeably less power than advertised, especially at altitude, and the aircraft failed to reach the specified speed, although a best speed of 639 km/h (397 mph) was recorded. A total of 19 prototypes and pre-production aircraft were completed between March 1943 and April 1944, some of them with the Homare 21 engine and a three-bladed propeller. Even without meeting the specification, the C6N was faster and had a longer range than the Yokosuka D4Y Suisei then used for carrier reconnaissance, and it was ordered into production in February 1944 as the Navy Carrier Reconnaissance Plane Saiun Model 11 (C6N1). By the end of the war, Nakajima had built 463 examples in its Koizumi and Handa factories.

Operational history

The C6N1 first saw action during the Battle of the Marianas in the summer of 1944 and entered regular service in September 1944. Since few Japanese carriers remained by then, most Saiuns operated from land bases. Their long-range sorties shadowing the American fleet carried little risk, as the aircraft was almost impossible to intercept for the US Navy's Grumman F6F Hellcat. This reputation is summed up by the famous telegram sent by a crew after a successful mission: "No Grumman can catch us" (我に追いつくグラマンなし). In the last year of the war, the Saiuns kept a constant watch on the US task forces, but the Imperial Japanese Navy was no longer in a position to exploit the information they brought back. On 18 March 1945, for example, a C6N of the 343rd Kokutai spotted the American carriers heading for Japan, allowing the unit's Kawanishi N1K Shiden fighters to intercept the raid on Kure the following morning.

In response to the Boeing B-29 Superfortress raids on the home islands, the 302nd Kokutai at Atsugi converted a few C6N1s into night fighters, unofficially known as C6N1-S. The observer was removed and replaced by oblique-firing cannon (Schräge Musik): two 20 mm Type 99 cannon on at least five aircraft, and a single 30 mm Type 5 cannon on one example. As the weapons weighed about the same as the observer, performance hardly suffered and the C6N1-S was the fastest night fighter available to the Japanese defenders, but the lack of air-to-air radar severely limited its effectiveness. The 30 mm example attacked B-29s only once, on the night of 1 August 1945, and its recoil reportedly distorted the light fuselage skin.

A C6N1 is often credited as the last aircraft shot down in the Second World War, at 5:40 am on 15 August 1945, a few minutes before hostilities ended. A turbocharged development, the C6N2 Saiun-Kai, was still in flight testing at the time of the surrender. After the war, at least four Saiuns were shipped to the United States for technical evaluation.

Variants

  • 17-Shi Carrier Reconnaissance Aircraft (C6N1 prototypes) : Three prototypes and sixteen pre-production aircraft (19 in total), the first with four-bladed propellers, the later ones with three-bladed propellers; most were powered by the Homare 22, No. 6 by the Homare 21. Renamed "Test production Saiun" in July 1943.
  • C6N1 Saiun Model 11 : Main production version, with a Homare 21 engine and a three-bladed propeller.
  • C6N1-B Saiun Model 21 : Torpedo bomber project, abandoned after the loss of most Japanese carriers.
  • C6N1-S : Field conversion into a two-seat night fighter, not an official navy designation. One example with a single 30 mm Type 5 cannon (June 1945) and at least five with two 20 mm Type 99 cannon.
  • C6N2 Saiun-Kai (Model 12) : Development with a 1,980 hp Homare 24 Ru engine with a Hitachi 92 turbocharger and a four-bladed propeller, intended to reach 639 km/h at 8,500 m. One prototype converted from a C6N1 in February 1945, first flown in July 1945. The young engineer Shinroku Momose, who worked on its turbocharger installation, later designed the Subaru 360 car.
  • C6N3 Saiun-Kai 1 : Projected high-altitude night fighter based on the C6N2, with two 20 mm cannon.
  • C6N4 Saiun-Kai 2 : Version with a 2,200 hp Mitsubishi Ha-43 turbocharged engine; one prototype converted from a C6N1 but never completed.
  • C6N5 Saiun-Kai 3 : Torpedo bomber project.
  • C6N6 Saiun-Kai 4 : Project for a wooden version.

Operators

  • Japan : Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.
    • Yokosuka Kokutai and the 121st, 131st, 132nd, 141st, 171st, 210th, 302nd, 343rd, 701st, 723rd, 752nd, 762nd, 801st and 1001st Kokutai.
    • 3rd, 4th, 11th, 12th and 102nd Reconnaissance Hikotai.
    • Special attack (kamikaze) units in 1945 : 1st Mitate Special Attack Group and Sairyu Unit (from the 752nd Kokutai), Saiun Unit (from the 723rd Kokutai).

Surviving aircraft

  • United States : A C6N1-S armed with two 20 mm cannon, shipped to the United States aboard the escort carrier USS Barnes with 145 other Japanese aircraft, arrived at Langley Field on 8 December 1945. Transferred to the US Army Air Forces, it was overhauled and flight tested at Middletown, Pennsylvania, then given to the National Air Museum in 1949. It is stored disassembled (fuselage and engine) at the Paul E. Garber Facility of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and is not on display.
  • Japan : A C6N1 abandoned at Moen (Chuuk) airfield after the war was salvaged by a local resident in the early 2000s, shipped to the United States, then bought by Nobuo Harada and brought to Japan. Under restoration at the Kawaguchiko Motor Museum (Fuji Air Museum), near Mount Fuji, it was unveiled to the public on 1 August 2023; the museum is only open in August.
  • Truk Lagoon : The wreck of a C6N1 lies at the bottom of the lagoon.

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This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Nakajima C6N of Wikipedia ( authors )

Nakajima C6N Saiun ("Myrt")

  • Role : Carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft (night fighter for the C6N1-S).
  • Manufacturer : Nakajima Aircraft Company.
  • Designers : Yasuo Fukuda and Yoshizo Yamamoto.
  • First flight : 15 May 1943.
  • Introduction : September 1944.
  • Retired : 1945.
  • Status : retired.
  • Primary user : Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service.
  • Produced : 1943 to 1945.
  • Number built : 463.
  • Variants :
    • C6N1-S night fighter.
    • C6N2 Saiun-Kai.

    Specifications (C6N1)

  • Crew: three (pilot, observer, radio operator/gunner); two on the C6N1-S.
  • Length: 36 ft 1 in (11 m).
  • Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.50 m).
  • Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m).
  • Wing area: 274 sq ft (25.5 m²).
  • Airfoil: root: K151; tip: K159.
  • Empty weight: 6,543 lb (2,968 kg).
  • Gross weight: 9,921 lb (4,500 kg).
  • Max takeoff weight: 11,596 lb (5,260 kg).
  • Fuel capacity: 1,360 l internal + 730 l ventral drop tank.
  • Powerplant: One Nakajima NK9H Homare 21 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine.
  • Power: 1,990 hp (1,485 kW).
  • Propeller: 3-bladed constant-speed metal propeller.
  • Maximum speed: 379 mph (610 km/h, 329 kts) at 20,000 ft (6,100 m).
  • Cruise speed: 242 mph (390 km/h, 210 kts).
  • Ferry range: 3,300 mi (5,300 km, 2,900 nmi) with auxiliary fuel.
  • Service ceiling: 34,350 ft (10,470 m).
  • Time to altitude: 19,700 ft (6,000 m) in 8 min 9 s.
  • Wing loading: 36 lb/sq ft (176 kg/m²).
  • Armament:
    • C6N1 : One flexible rear-firing 7.92 mm Type 1 machine gun.
    • C6N1-S : Two oblique-firing 20 mm Type 99 cannon (one 30 mm Type 5 cannon on one aircraft).

— — — = = — — —

This text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
Source : Article Nakajima C6N of Wikipedia ( authors )
Nakajima C6N Saiun ("Myrt") : Your comments on this subject
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